Former Stockton mayor Anthony Silva pulls out of plea agreement in federal court
A former mayor of Stockton who had been expected to plead guilty Tuesday in a federal fraud and identity theft case declined to do so, citing issues that arose Monday night regarding his agreement with prosecutors.
Anthony Silva, whose scandal-plagued tenure included two criminal cases in addition to the federal charges he faces, was accused last summer of lying on applications for COVID-era business relief funds known as Paycheck Protection Program loans, or PPP loans.
He initially pleaded not guilty in federal court in Sacramento, but late last week, prosecutors informed U.S. District Court Judge John Mendez that they had reached an agreement with Silva.
A hearing to change his plea was set for Tuesday morning, court documents show.
But when the case was called, Silva’s attorney, Kresta Daly, said last-minute issues had come up and remained unresolved. She asked to postpone the hearing for several weeks.
Standing next to her, Silva appeared in court wearing a lavender shirt and dress pants without a jacket. He did not speak.
Silva has proven a formidable negotiator throughout his legal troubles. Arrested in 2015 in connection with a strip poker game at an Amador County youth camp, he agreed to plead no contest to one count of providing alcohol to a minor.
An indictment in 2017 charged him with six counts of embezzlement, grand theft, money laundering and misappropriation of public funds in connection with his time as CEO of the now-defunct Stockton Boys and Girls Club. In that case, he pleaded no contest to one count of conflict of interest.
Last August, prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Sacramento charged Silva with one count of bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft in connection with multiple applications for Paycheck Protection Program loans.
Silva was barred from receiving the relief because of a prior conviction, so he falsely claimed another person owned a majority of his company, Indoor Adventures, according to the indictment. As a result, he received at least $17,000 in program funds, the indictment says.
Asked by Mendez whether the plea agreement with Silva remained “available,” prosecutor Matthew Thuesen replied that it did. Mendez set a new hearing for July 28, saying it could serve either as a status hearing or a change-of-plea hearing.
